Chapter 1774 - 318

The Second Elder's actions were not a sign of repentance, much less an awakening; he merely continued to follow his inner thoughts, consistently.

Having lost the qualification to lie there early on, he had one less obsession that he couldn't let go of compared to the other four Elders, but he knew what treatment the ancestors' head received there.

Perhaps, at first, the Second Elder was also angry, struggled, and hesitated, but he chose not to rebel and instead sought his own self-consolation.

He believed that what he did, and what the ancestors of the Zhao Family did throughout generations, was all to gather foundations for the everlasting continuation of the Jiujiang Zhao Family.

Having deceived himself for so long, he truly believed it; often the ones who cannot accept their illusions being shattered are the deceived themselves.

The Second Elder's heart could only find solace under such "self-deception."

Therefore, when he witnessed the collapse of the axis region in the Zhao Family Ancestral Mansion, realizing that the so-called "Zhao family's foundation" vanished in an instant, it was less about worrying for the Zhao family's future and more about worrying for his own life.

He desperately wanted to find a continuation in this shattered lie, to absolve himself.

When he stabbed the lantern into the Great Elder's body, he felt he had found this continuation; as the flames consumed both him and the Great Elder, he felt unprecedented relief, as he wouldn't have to worry about perpetuating the lie any longer before he perished.

Zhao Yi silently counted down the time of the Great Elder's death in the fire within his heart.

However, Zhao Yi's gaze wasn't fixed on the burning scene in front but on the battlefield of disarray and scattered corpses in the distance.

He had been staring at it for a long time, as if pondering, yet daydreaming or lost in thought.

Those who infiltrated the Zhao family for the kill, their sole purpose was to kill the Great Elder.

The Great Elder was a piece of nourished meat marked by Jiang Shui, waiting to be divided.

Especially under the premise that almost all other team members were dead, if one could appear and personally eliminate the Great Elder before he breathed his last, he could solely gain the merit from this multi-team tide.

That person had a stronger mindset than Bu Chen and his group, being someone who could walk alone on Jiang, such individuals were never easy to deal with.

Bu Chen's group merely suspected that Zhao Yi's "Great Elder" was fake, but that person possibly had certainty from the beginning.

That person knew Zhao Yi was fishing in this way and understood that Zhao Yi seemingly standing alone must have other means, only unable to detect them.

In such an explosive duel, whoever acted first or broke the concealment first would be at a disadvantage.

Earlier, when the Great Elder crazily rushed up, that person hoped Zhao Yi would activate his means to save himself, but Zhao Yi didn't do so.

Of course, that person could wait, wait for the Great Elder to rush up directly tearing Zhao Yi apart.

But Zhao Yi's death would inevitably trigger his other means, and the Great Elder would be killed instantly, leaving that person to only drink the leftover soup from the meat.

His chance to act was during the short moment when the Great Elder killed Zhao Yi.

He bet on Zhao Yi's fear of death.

Zhao Yi bet on his greed.

Living precariously, trying to safely pass this tide, and willing to abandon the merit?

Then why light the lamp and walk on Jiang, why walk alone on Jiang?

Zhao Yi concluded that this person could not possibly resist.

What if Zhao Yi guessed wrong... well, then he'd die.

Previously, Zhao Yi thought of himself as wearing shoes, afraid to wager, but now, looking at what has already happened in the Zhao Family's ancestral grounds, well, it doesn't matter, a worthless life, lose it!

But the Second Elder's interception actually changed the balance of this bet, the Great Elder couldn't rush up to kill Zhao Yi anymore, effectively eliminating Zhao Yi's risk in this gamble.

Zhao Yi: No need to wait any longer, it's time for you to act.

He,

To be precise, she,

made a move.

A graceful figure, holding a sword, seemingly appeared out of thin air, charging toward the Great Elder with astonishing speed.

Zhao Yi's index and middle fingers were apart, and the two strands of hair tied on two fingers broke.

On the slope down the ground in front of him, sisters Liang Yan and Liang Li simultaneously opened their eyes.

Many silver needles were pinned on the two women, especially the three blood needles on the brow, which were exceptionally shocking.

Fearing detection earlier, Zhao Yi had them put on a show of leaving, and then follow the initial plan to return.

The two women, as Zhao Yi requested, inserted silver needles into the acupoints on their bodies; the three blood needles on their brows were inserted by the sisters for each other.

This move, first, could suppress their inner vitality to the maximum, making it extremely difficult to detect the pair of "objects" underground even at close proximity;

Second, they would briefly lose all self-awareness, truly like the dead.

If allowed awareness, during moments of crisis, they might not be able to resist emerging to save Zhao Yi, but Zhao Yi truly wanted to bet his life and didn't want to perform a tear-jerking play before dying.

This method has severe side effects, and if the time exceeds, it could result in never waking up, forever becoming a living dead; even if awakening within allowed time, their body meridians would be significantly damaged.

Moreover, this needle impalement also had a layer of hidden effect, which was during the moment of awakening, their potential would be fully activated, granting a rapid boost in power briefly, although this carried equally severe side effects.

For revenge, Zhao Yi played himself into "a fan."